"It’s also frustrating because the show doesn’t stand a chance to work on its own, especially since the journeyman score by the married team of Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay, does nothing to spark things up."
Read more
"While occasionally diverting, the musical feels like a longer, paler copy of the film. Even with lively choreography... the brand expansion emerges a bit flat-footed."
Read more
"Devolving into commodity slop is a curious move for an underdog cult comedy... Yet that’s what this entire exercise in soulless IP exploitation is: A fun movie masquerading as an interminable musical."
Read more
"The songs... have all the substance of a scrunchie, but book writer Robin Schiff... has wisely chosen to retain choice bits from the movie, often verbatim, to tweak fans' nostalgia."
Read more
Schiff’s book so slavishly follows her screenplay that there is nothing much to wait for.
Read more
"This is the most striking and immersive set and projection work I have seen all season, by far."
Read more
If ever there were a show that begged for the jukebox treatment, it’s this one — especially since the supposedly original songs mostly amplify the mood of a scene rather than deepen our understanding of the stubbornly one-dimensional characters or the herky-jerky plot.
Read more
Lacking …in the kind of creative originality needed to overcome its stereotypical plot and characters, its generic music, and its tired comedic tropes.
Read more